Sunday, October 6, 2024

Comparing Two Oktoberfest Brews

 Hofbräuhaus and Warsteiner Oktoberfest



This week I picked up a couple of new German beers that I had not previously tried (at Total Wines and More). It's Oktoberfest season, so plenty of Oktoberfest brews are on sale (including US brands I don't bother with).  What I tried this week were Muenchener Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest and  Warsteiner Oktoberfest.

Hofbräuhaus is produced by the famous restaurant of the same name. This brewery is also one of the handful (6) of officially recognized Munich breweries, and as such, has a beer tent at the Oktoberfest. This particular beer came in a 1.5 liter can and is 6.3% alcohol. 

I had previously had the HB Oktoberfest beer at the Las Vegas Hofbräuhaus. It's been too long to tell if there is a difference, but suffice to say, I liked both just fine.

Warsteiner is brewed in the town of Warstein in North Rhine Westphalia. It is a major brewery and is exported all over the world. I had never had much luck trying Warsteiner at various sites, but as I have mentioned many times, German exports are now much closer in taste to the authentic taste in Germany. 

As for their own annual beerfest, the only thing I can find is that Warstein celebrates something called Bayrischer Woche (Bavarian Week) in October.




The .5 liter can I bought is 5.9% alcohol. It has a smooth, creamy texture and I think the taste was authentic.

As to which I prefer, hard to say, but I will go with the HB. Maybe it's the added .4% alcohol,